Header-MainMenu-STYLEGUIDE

Style Guide

Foreword

A clear, polished and distinctive style is at the heart of any written communication Queen’s University issues. Whether we are writing for the web or publishing on paper, each time we reach out to our audiences, it is vital that we are readily understood. The university’s first style guide will help us bring renewed consistency to everything we write.

At Queen’s we already have a distinctive visual identity. It helps to set us apart from other institutions, communicates our values, and unifies the university’s many moving parts under a single visual umbrella. A consistent written style serves us the same way. It ensures that we address the world with a shared, decisive voice, while conveying a sense of unity, credibility, and authority. It is an important component of the Queen’s brand, and allows us to maintain our status as a high-quality and trusted institution.

It’s no secret that I’m a stickler for good grammar. Unsurprisingly, I feel just as strongly about correct spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and the other details that ensure clean, clear writing. Our style guide will help eliminate the frustration that arises when you find yourself deliberating on whether a word should be capitalized, or whether to use a period after an honorific.